Emma Reynolds, Labour MP for Wolverhampton North East and Shadow Housing Minister, has criticised the government for its complacency in the face of rising rents.Figures released last month showed rent increases across the country, driven by rises in London. The West Midlands also experienced a 1.4% rise.

At the same time, according to a survey by the estate agents Countrywide, the number of first time buyers aged 25 and under is expected to fall by a third due to increased levels of student debt and a greater proportion of younger people renting. By 2018, 1 in 5 households nationwide will live in private rented accommodation.

In Parliament, Emma said: “The Minister seems to be in complete denial about the levels of unaffordable rents. In London, for example, an average family spends more than half its income on rent. The truth is that the Government are presiding over the lowest level of house building since the 1920s and they have cut the affordable homes budget by 60%. Furthermore, the number of working families receiving housing benefit has doubled. What will the Government do to boost supply and to ensure that rents are affordable?”

Speaking afterwards, Emma said: “Rents are rising because of this government’s failure to get more homes built.  Under this government, less than half the number of homes needed to keep up with demand are being built. Their failure is pushing more people into the private rented sector, pushing up rents and pushing dreams of home ownership out of reach for young people and families.

“Rising rents are pushing more and more people onto housing benefit and are a major cause of the cost of living crisis that families are facing up and down the country. The next Labour government will double house building by reforming the development industry and introducing measures to tackle landbanking, bringing forward plans to deliver a new generation of new towns and garden cities and giving local authorities a new right to grow to deliver the homes their communities need.”

January 2014